In spite of the unnecessary high noise levels experienced in areas near large airports, little is at present being done to prevent similar noise nuisance in areas near expanding general aviation airports--that is, airports without a commercial air service.
This was one of the main conclusions reached at The Conference of General Aviation--Airport Noise and Land Use Plannin~sponsored by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Georgia Institute of Technology and held from the 3rd to the 5th of October 1979, at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
An unusual aspect of the Conference was the participation by experts from a number of professions not previously involved with aircraft noise--bankers, appraisers and politicians--as well as planners and aviation-oriented groups.
Although planners and political leaders had traditionally sought to attract both people and economic activity to the vicinity of small airports, general aviation airport growth was, the Conference heard, subject to practically no guidance or requirements from any Government agency to ensure that noise from the airport would be reduced and that there would be compatible residential development.
Planners at the Conference explained that the majority of general aviation airport operators and communities around such airports lack information on what level of aircraft operations will make land unacceptable for residential use. Such specialised knowledge is, it was felt, crucial in the case of this type of airport since residents of neighbouring quiet suburban or semi-rural areas were prone to complain about aircraft noise at lower levels than they would about noise occurring in high background noise urban areas.
The Conference identified the need for specialised information, to be made available to general aviation airport operators and urban planners. How such information is to be obtained and how the attention of those involved is to be attracted will be the subject of the second conference, to be held this year.
Summaries of the report of the conference may be obtained from